


Eleven Letters and a Half

by Stalemate



Series: Powerful Women [2]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, F/F, Gen, Happy Ending, Lena Luthor Finds Out Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Lena Luthor Knows Kara Danvers Is Supergirl, Light Angst, but like, haha jk its, so enjoy it while you still can, there's no comfort, this is literally the only happy ending you people will get from me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-04-27 10:08:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14423130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stalemate/pseuds/Stalemate
Summary: Lena Luthor, who had been off the grid for nearly four years, resurfaces- Dead. All she's left behind are eleven and a half letters.





	1. Bad News

**Author's Note:**

> I already have two chapters ready, but I'll be posting them a week apart. Also, HUGE spoiler for Orphan Black (episode 3x10) in the second paragraph.

I stomped into my loft as I grunted. Snapper's been assigning me puff pieces ever since I started my job as a reporter at CatCo. I set my keys next to my purse on the kitchen counter. I grabbed my laptop and sat on my couch to work on my article. 

 

An hour later, my article was finished and sent to CatCo. for editing and I was sitting on my couch, watching Orphan Black. My white corduroy pants and blue button ups switched in favor of light grey sweatpants and my favorite National City University hoodie. Delphine had just been shot in the gut as I sat there in shock. I was brought back to reality to the sound of my phone ringing. I glanced at my phone to see that an unknown number was calling me. Hesitantly, I answered and brought my phone up to my ear.

 

**“Hello?”**

**“Hello. Kara Danvers?”**

**“Yes, who is this?”**

**“I'm Sam Arias, you don't know me but I knew Lena.”**

**“Lena as in Lena Luthor?**

**“Yeah. I have urgent news as well as something to give you. Where can we meet?”**

**“Okay. You can come to my place. I'll text you the address.”**

**“Great! See you then.”**

 

With that, the woman hung up. As promised, I texted her my address. I knew it wasn't the safest thing to do, but she knew Lena and that's all that matters. I hadn't heard from Lena in three and a half years, so I was desperate to find out anything about what she's been doing and why she left so suddenly.

 

I decided to order some pizza and potstickers from Noonan’s. Soon enough, there was a knock on my door. I grabbed a twenty dollar bill from my purse and went to answer the door. 

 

“Hey, Dave!” I said, as I took the small box of pizza with a bag of potstickers from his hands. “Hey, Kara.” He said, as I handed him the twenty dollar bill.

“Keep the change.”. He said his thanks before walking away. I sat at my kitchen island and devoured the bag of potstickers. I left the pizza for when Sam came over.

 

Just as I was throwing away the bag, I heard three knocks on my door. I quickly cleared my hands if crumbs and hurried to answer the door. In front of me stood a short woman wearing faded jeans and a plain gray hoodie. Her brown and black hair was tied into a ponytail. 

 

“Hi! You must be Sam.” I said as I further opened the door and stepped aside to let her in.

 

“Hi, Kara.” She said as she walked in and Ied her to the kitchen island. We sat across from each other over the box of pizza. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?” I said as I pulled two plates from a cabinet and set one in front of myself and Sam. I set one slice of pizza on each of our plates, not wanting to embarrass myself by eating half the pizza. “Oh, right. Uhmm… I don't know how to say this…” 

 

“Why? Is it about Lena? Is she okay?” I asked with concern in my voice. “No, she's not,” said Sam with a small amount of sorrow in her voice, but her expression neutral. My face dropped along with my slice of pizza at hearing those words. “She was found dead in her office yesterday.” 

 

“No.” One of my worst fears had become true and I couldn't stop myself from crying. All of these years of praying and hoping Lena was alive and well just to find out she was well and then find out she was dead. I buried my face in my hands as Sam hugged me. “I'm so sorry, Kara.”

═══════

 

 

 

It was now late at night and Sam and I had moved to the couch somewhere in the process of crying and sharing stories about Lena together. I didn't really now Sam, but I felt some sort of closeness to her, probably because she and I knew and cared for Lena.

 

Sam lifted her left hand to look at the time on her watch. It must've been really late, because she gasped rather loudly before letting out a sigh. “Shit! It's three in the morning! I'm so sorry, Kara. I have to go. I have a meet–” 

 

I cut Sam off with a tight hug. “It's okay. Go.” I said, before releasing her. She walked over to the kitchen island and retrieved a small wooden chest she had come here with. She walked back over to the cough and sat down. “This is for you” she paused when I raised my eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised, “From Lena.”. She handed me the chest, along with a small golden key on the lid. The box seemed hand-carved, covered with intricate swirls and lines that faded at the center of the lid. Words in beautiful script covered the center that read, ‘ _ Kara Danvers _ ’. The center of the chest was wrapped in gold, and at the front of the chest, embedded in the gold was a lock that looked like something from medieval times.

 

“What’s in this?” I asked, as I traced the beautiful curves of the wood. “No one knows. I found it on her desk at L-Corp, and when I saw your name on it, I took it so I could give it to you.” she said to me as she walked to the door of my loft. I was itching to open it and see what secrets it held, but I figured whatever was inside the chest was something to be seen in private.

 

Sam said goodbye and waved at me as she closed to door to my apartment, leaving me alone in my loft once again. Although I was dying to see the contents of the small chest, I decided to try and sleep so I could look at whatever the chest held when I was somewhat refreshed. I turned off the lights inside my loft and headed for my room, too tired out from crying all night to brush my teeth, I jumped straight into bed. I thought of every single memory I’ve had with Lena, both as Supergirl and as Kara Danvers as I drifted to a peaceful sleep.


	2. The First Letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel bad that I'm making people wait an entire week for the next chapter, so imma just post it now. Working on chapter 3 as I type this.

I woke up to the sun shining down on my face. I reached over to my bedside table to check the time on my phone.  **_10:33 AM._ ** _ Crap! I’m almost late for work!  _ I super-sped out of my bedsheets and to the bathroom to take a quick shower. Only half way through breakfast did I realize it was Saturday and I didn’t have work today. I sighed in relief and continued devouring my stack of pancakes, adding more chocolate syrup in the process. In favor of spending the day at home, I decided to change into a pair of grey leggings and a black loose turtleneck. As I was walking out of my room and into my living room, my eyes fell upon the wooden box Sam gave me last night.

 

Memories of the previous night started to flood into my head as I walked over to the glass coffee table on which the chest sat. I slumped down into the couch as I picked up the small chest and put it in my lap. I picked the golden key off the lid of the chest, took a deep breath, and opened the chest.

 

Inside it was what looked to be a folded paper, and under it nine envelopes. I reached down into the chest and pulled out the letter at the very bottom. Two lines of text were printed on the center of the envelope in an elegant font, much like the one on the lid of the chest.

 

**_Kara Danvers_ ** **_  
_ ** **_02.03.19_ **

 

Deciding it was better to just get this over with, I ripped the envelope open and pulled out the letter within. I gasped as I read the first line of the letter, and stopped immediately after, knowing I wouldn’t be able to get through this on my own. I picked my phone up off the couch and dialed Alex’s number.   
  
**_“Hey, Kara.”_ **

**_“Hey, Alex.”_ ** I said in a broken voice, tears starting to fill my eyes.

**_“What’s wrong? Do you want me to come over?”_ **

**_“It- It’s Lena.”_ **

**_“What about her? Ya know what, I’m coming over with ice cream. Be there in a sec.”_ **

 

With that, the line went dead as she hung up. I brought my knees up to my chest and buried my face in my arms, now sobbing.

 

════════════

 

A knock on my door startled me. I then realized it was probably Alex and told her to come in. She ran over to me as soon as she saw me curled up on my couch and hugged me. She now noticed the wooden chest next to me on the couch; her expression changed from worried to confused.

 

“She’s g-gone.” I said, as I started crying into my sister’s shoulder.

 

“Oh, Kara,” she said as she started to stroke my hair, “She reached over and picked up the letter I had tried reading earlier and asked what it was.

 

“Letter from Lena. There’s more in the box.” I answered, as I started to sit up a small bit, with Alex’s arm around me.

 

“Do you want me to read it to you?” I nodded in reply and braced myself for what I was about to hear. Alex took a steadying breath and began reading.

 

_ "February 3rd, 2019 _

 

_ Dearest Kara, _

 

_ If you are reading this, I have passed away. I would like to apologize for leaving so abruptly that warm summer morning without saying a word, with no promise of my return. I never intended for any of this to happen, but it did and I am truly sorry for what I did.  _

 

_ The letters in this chest describe everything I went through and did during the past three and a half years. It was all a mixture of sadness, guilt, sorrow, joy, and other emotions I cannot describe with words in any known language. I hope you will understand why I did everything leading up to my death and that you may forgive me. _

 

_ Sincerely, _

_ Lena _

 

Alex let out a breath and folded the letter back up and looked down at me. I was sure she had a handful of questions, but she’d get to ask those later. For now, I would mourn the loss of my best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Images aren't working so I had to settle for normal text for the letter.


	3. Grieving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the only chapter that'll be posted for a while now. I'm swamped with school work, but I'll try and get chapter 4 up soon.

I showed up at work the next day, having been denied even a day off work after learning of Lena’s death.  As soon as I stepped foot in my office, I heard the grumpy voice I associated with the man I had been working with for the past four years.

 

“Ponytail!” The name was said with some version of pride instead of the juxtaposition between annoyance and impatience with me. I quickly turned around and ran to his office.

 

“Yes, Mr. Carr?” I asked as I stopped in front of his desk.

 

“I need you to edit the sad excuse of an article that Stevens wrote, finish it  _ today. _ ” He threw the article onto my side of the table as he said this. I had been promoted to junior editor a few months ago. I picked it up and realized it was an article about Lena’s death. Seeing it made me freeze, and my eyes started to fill with tears. Snapper didn’t seem to notice, so I nodded and left.

 

Back at my office, I sat at my desk and began to look over the article. As I continued reading, I realized Stevens hadn’t even looked into Lena’s life. It only spoke about her family and only a few good things she had done in her life. The only thing even remotely good about it was the title, which read  **_LENA LUTHOR DIES AT AGE 28_ ** . Sighing, I pulled my laptop closer to me, opened a new document, and began to completely rewrite the article.

 

I handed in the rewritten article to Snapper long before the deadline for it, having been hyper focused on work in an attempt to stop thinking about Lena, which was hard considering the fact I was writing an article about her death. As soon as I dropped the article on Snapper’s desk, I walked away, got into the elevator, and walked out of CatCo. with the intent of taking a walk around the block to try and clear my mind. I ended walking to my apartment, and started crying once I closed the door behind me. I dragged myself over to my couch and pulled the small chest towards me. Unlocking it with a key, I pulled out the second letter from the bottom of the neat stack inside. I took it out of it’s envelope and began to read, now sobbing from the memory of Lena.

 

_ February 28th, 2019 _

_ Kara, _

 

_ I remember it well, the moment I saw an advertisement for a chance to change the world for the better. I originally thought I could go in for an interview and tell you about this opportunity, but we jumped into the project. One restless night lead to another and I found myself deep in my work. After weeks of working, I realized I didn't have all the resources I needed in National City. That's when I made a decision to move overseas in order to pursue this opportunity.  At the time, I did not know where I would go, but I knew I just had to leave National City and delve deeper, so I bought a one way ticket to Washington D.C. _

 

_ The next day I found myself on a flight to Washington. I honestly had no idea what I was going to do there. Until I found Sam Arias, who would be my partner and friend for the next three and a half years. She and I shared very similar views on the world. Soon enough, we decided on our plan of action. We both knew it wouldn't be easy, but we also knew it would be dangerous, which is part of why I never tried reaching out to you during this time. _

 

_ I must get back to work now, but I will continue the story in another letter. _

 

_ Sincerely, _

_ Lena _

 

The paper was covered in teardrops by the time I had finished reading the letters. I was relieved that she had left so abruptly for a good reason. I remembered the morning so well. Alex, James, Lena, Winn and I had celebrated my Earth-birthday at my apartment the night before. Lena, not wanting to drive while drunk, had asked if she could stay at my loft, and I had agreed.

 

═══════════

 

_ I woke up to sunlight streaming in through the window and a head of black hair facing away from me. Smiling at the sleeping woman, I quietly climbed out of bed with the intent of making breakfast for Lena and me. I drowsily walked to the kitchen and pulled out the necessary ingredients for breakfast: eggs, bacon, and cheese. I pulled out a pan and began to make breakfast. Not even halfway through cracking the eggs for the second omelette, Lena stormed out of my room dressed in the same clothes as last night. Her makeup and hair were somehow impeccable. Her eyes were glued to her phone as she walked past the kitchen and out the door. _

 

═══════════

 

I smiled at the memory, which I had tried very hard to engrave into my brain so I would never forget it. It was the last time I had ever seen Lena for three and a half long years, although I never wanted to believe it. I always said the only time I would ever thought she would be really gone was when she was dead. And now she was. The reality of that struck me in the face and I completely broke down once again. Just then, I received a text from Alex asking if I was okay.

 

**_[3:47 PM]_ ** **Kara -** _ I don’t think so. _

 

**_[3:47 PM]_ ** **Alex -** _ I can’t come over. DEO is super busy rn. _

 

**_[3:48 PM]_ ** **Alex -** _ I’ll send Maggie over with some potstickers. Hang in there, Kar. _

 

I sucked in a ragged breath when I read the text. I was glad Alex wanted to help, even if she wasn’t here with me. I changed into a pair of gray sweatpants and an oversized sweater, which used to be Lena’s. She ordered pizza and settled down on her couch to wait for Maggie to get here.

 

══════════

 

Three sharp knocks on my door startled me. I used my x-ray vision to see Maggie on the other side of my door, holding a box of pizza along with a bag of potstickers on top of it.

 

“Come in.” I called out. My voice was slightly raspy from crying so much. Maggie walked in with a small smile on her face, but as soon as she saw the state I was in, her expression turned to one of sympathy. She hurried over to me and set the food down on the table as she sat down next to me.

 

“I’m so sorry, Kara.” Too tired to speak, I sniffed in response. I sat up, suddenly aware of the food on the table in front of me. I tore open the pizza and potstickers and began to eat. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so the food helped with my mood. When I was done eating, Maggie looked at me and asked me about Lena. I took a steadying breath to try and mentally prepare myself for this conversation. I opened my mouth to speak, but all that came out was a wretched sob. Maggie instantly pulled me closer into a hug to try and soothe my emotions. It didn’t help much, but it was something.

 

A few minutes later, I looked up at Maggie and began to speak, “Lena meant  _ so _ much to me. She was my best friend, my only  _ real _ friend, really. She always stuck with me through the thick and thin. I just regret never telling her about me being Supergirl.” I let out another sob before continuing, “I mean, I knew her for  _ six years _ and I never told her. I always told myself it was because of my sister, but I think there was always some other reason why I didn’t tell her.” I paused for a bit, “I don’t think I’ll be able to get through this alone.”

 

Maggie rubbed my arm soothingly before speaking, “You don’t have to. You have me, you have Alex, Winn, James. We’re all here to support you. Every step of the way.” I smiled at that and hugged her tighter, drifting to sleep from crying so much.


	4. Unexpected Guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara reads some more letters. Meanwhile, an unexpected guest is back in National City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go! 1,292 words served with a side of drama.
> 
> Just an FYI: I'm going to be avoiding the Supergirl part of Kara's life for the most part.

I woke up alone on my couch with a warm blanket draped over me. Judging by the amount of sunlight outside, it was around noon. I sat up and stretched, and just then someone knocked at my door. Thinking it was Maggie or Alex, I called for them to come in. The woman who walked through my door was not at all who I expected. “Ms. Grant?”

 

“Yes, Keira. I see you still live in the same crappy apartment as six years ago.” Said Cat as she set her purse down on my kitchen counter. Recovering from the shock of seeing Cat here again after six years, my expression was replaced by one of confusion, “Why are you here, exactly?” I asked. My voice was still a bit raspy from crying, but Cat didn’t seem to notice.

 

“I heard about Lena’s death, figured I should come to the funeral.” The mention of Lena’s name caused my eyes to fill with tears, but I didn’t bother hiding them anymore. Cat was too good at reading people, anyways. Noticing the few tears that had streamed down my cheek, she seemed confused. “Why are you crying? It’s not like you knew her anyways.” The way she said that hurt me even more and I had to sit down on the couch to stop myself from collapsing on the floor. I was almost sobbing now, and Cat seemed to have noticed how hurt I was. She stepped closer, seemingly understanding why I was so sad. “Damn, you did know her, didn’t you?” I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. “I’m so sorry, Kara. I didn’t know.” Cat now sat on the couch, but not too close, and pulled out her phone. She pressed a button on her screen and put it up to her ear. I didn’t bother listening in on who was on the other side when they answered, but the way Cat greeted them gave it away.

 

“Alex, you need to come over to Kara’s. Bring food.” she said before hanging up and putting her phone on the coffee table in front of us. Remembering the chest full of letters, I pointed to it and asked Cat to hand it to me. She looked at me with an eyebrow raised as she did so. My hands shook slightly as I tried to open it; it took me three tries before I heard a soft click and lifted the lid. Cat looked surprised as I pulled out the third letter. “That’s...not what I expected.” Said Cat with a hint of amusement as I pulled the letter out of it’s envelope. Throwing the envelope to the side, I handed Cat the letter and asked her to read it to me. Nodding, she unfolded the letter and began to read.

 

“Kara,

 

As promised, I am going to continue with stories of my adventures and discoveries. 

 

You have probably wondered why I have been addressing my own death in these letters, but the answer to that question will be revealed in due time.

 

On with the story. As I am writing this, Sam and I are in Metropolis. You will most likely be thrilled to learn what I have been working on with Sam, and I will not deny you the right to know.

 

We've been working with aliens all around the continent in order to find a certain piece of technology which is the foundation of this entire project. Sam and I are incredibly close to locating it here in Metropolis.

 

Work is calling me away again, but there will soon be more to tell.

 

Kindest regards,

Lena”

 

She trailed off as she read Lena’s name, not having realized the letters were from her. She seemed to have noticed the envelope, which now lay forgotten on the coffee table, had no postage stamp. “How come she never sent these to you?” I cleared my throat before answering her . “I dunno. She wrote these letters during the time she disappeared, so I guess she did it to stay hidden?” Cat looked back down at the letter to confirm the date it was written.  _ April 30th, 2019.  _ Just then, a knock at the door startled Cat, but she stood up to go answer it. Alex stood on the other side holding three boxes of pizza. She hastily walked over to me and set the pizza on the table, lifting the lid of the top box and pulling out a slice of pizza. I accepted it with shaking hands as she handed the slice to me. She sat in the same spot Cat was in a few seconds ago and began talking about her day in what I think was an attempt to distract me. Meanwhile, Cat found a sheet of paper and left a note that read “Funeral on the 7th.” She signed it with a simple ‘C’ and quietly slipped out of my apartment.

 

═════════════

 

When I went into work the next day, the first thing I saw was multiple television screens with the same headline.  **_LUTHOR’S BODY DISAPPEARS._ ** I doubled back as I read the headlines, deciding I would take the day off. No one had even realized I was here, anyways. I flew back to my apartment and switched back into my comfortable clothes. I thought about calling Alex, but  thought better of it. I needed to be able to read at least one of the letters on my own. I moved to my couch and pulled out the fourth letter from the box, which still lay open from last night. I took a deep breath to mentally prepare myself before I opened the envelope, unfolded the letter, and began to read.

 

_ ‘June 24th, 2019 _

_ Kara, _

 

_ As I write this, I am absolutely thrilled. After a long year of searching, Sam and I have finally found what we've been looking for– Element X. _

 

_ Normally, this element has the ability to rearrange atoms, but Sam and I are planning to direct its power to focus on teleportation. If we succeed in this, the impact it will have on the world will be immense. With teleportation, we could eliminate the use for vehicles, and lower pollution while we're at it! Oh, how I wish you could be here for this, Kara! I must get back to work now, but I will write again soon. _

 

_ Sincerely, _

_ Lena’ _

 

Less dejected than before, I smiled a bit upon hearing of her success. It was good to know she hadn’t disappeared for no good reason. I could perfectly imagine the moment Lena had found Element X. The look of excitement on her face, the way she squealed in excitement, the big smile, all of it. A soft ding pulled me out of my thoughts. Locating the source of the sound, I looked at my phone screen, which was now lit up by a text from Cat.

 

**_[12:37 PM]_ ** **Cat Grant -** _ Can we talk about what happened? _

 

Confused as to what she meant, I sent back a quick text.

 

**_[12:38 PM]_ ** **Kara Danvers -** _ What do you mean? _

 

Cat instantly replied to me.

 

**_[12:38 PM]_ ** **Cat Grant -** _ The… thing that happened the night I left. _

 

My eyes widened when I realized what she was talking about.

 

**_[12:39 PM]_ ** **Kara Danvers -** _ Mk. Busy rn. Lunch tomorrow? _

 

**_[12:39 PM]_ ** **Cat Grant -** _ Sure. _

 

I set my phone down next to me on the couch and let go of a breath I didn’t know I was holding. I had tried so hard to forget that night, but Cat decided it was a good time to walk in and remind me of the moment we had shared. I grabbed my phone and moved to my room with the intent of taking a quick nap before heading back to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't going to turn into a SuperCat story, I just wanted to implement a (sort of/not really) epilogue of 'A Last Goodbye' into this.


	5. The Eleventh Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara, Maggie, and Alex find a puzzle box locked with a code, found among Lena's belongings. The group look through the rest of the letters in the chest, and when they finally unlock the puzzle box, the information found inside was not at all what they expected. Afterwards, Dave the pizza guy gets pinned to a wall by Alex and he looks actually terrified.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, this was fun to write! Just one more chapter to go!

I woke up to my phone ringing loudly next to my ear. The screen was lit up with Alex’s name on it. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I answered it while yawning.

 

**“What is it, Alex?”** I greeted.

 

**“We found something in Lena’s stuff. It has your name on it. Can you come check it out?”** I only grunted in reply before I hung up and changed into my suit. I quickly flew to the DEO, where I heard Alex’s heartbeat. Flying in through the balcony, I saw Alex holding a wooden puzzle box that looks like it was ten inches long. There were five rows of random letters, which looked like they unlocked the box when put in the correct order. She spoke up as I landed in front of her. “I'm pretty sure you can already tell what this is, but I think you’re the only one who knows the code.” I furrowed my brow in confusion, having never heard of a code. “What? I’ve never been told of some code?”

 

“Well, figure it out, Kara. This could be important.” She said as she thrust the box into my hands and walked away without another word. “Okay…” I said to no one in particular before I flew back to my apartment and began trying to figure out the code. Thinking it might’ve been in the letters, I began to read the fifth letter she had written.

 

_ ‘July 1st, 2019 _

_ Kara, _

 

_ It's been months since we found Element X and we are incredibly close to a breakthrough, but that is not the reason I am writing this. _

 

_ Sam and I are currently in National City. You have been in my thoughts ever since we got back, but I cannot bring myself to go see you. There are so many emotions I have kept to myself but cannot express through writing, but they will all be revealed in due time.  _

 

_ I stopped by L-Corp yesterday and found that you have left me messages since the day I left. It pleases me that you have not forgotten me, but I could only say that I'm okay. I couldn't say I am safe, because that would be a lie. Being in possession of Element X makes me a target, which is partially why I can't be near you, and for that I am sorry. _

 

_ Now my eyes grow tired and my pen runs out of ink as the hours turn darker. _

 

_ I hope I might see you soon, _

_ Lena’ _

 

Okay, nothing about a code in there… Maybe it’s in the next letter. I pulled it out of the chest and skimmed over it.

 

‘ _...found a way to focus Element X’s power in teleportation…’ _

 

_ ‘...I wish you could have been here for every step of this adventure…’ _

 

_ ‘...I know I'm never going to see you again...I can feel something is wrong…’ _

 

Okay, maybe she doesn’t say anything about it candidly. I grabbed a nearby notebook and began to write down the five-letter words in what I had skimmed.

 

_ power, focus, never, wrong, every, could, going, again _

 

I crossed out  _ every, could, wrong, going,  _ and  _ again,  _ leaving me with a shorter list of words.

 

_ power, focus, never,  _ _ wrong _ _ ,  _ _ every _ _ ,  _ _ could _ _ ,  _ _ going _ _ ,  _ _ again. _

 

I changed the letters on the puzzle box to form  _ power _ , but nothing happened. I tried again with  _ focus,  _ and still, nothing happened. I looked at the box as if it had offended my great ancestors. I huffed as I pulled out the seventh letter and skimmed it as well.

 

_ ‘...six months since I last wrote…’ _

 

_ ‘...Element X to work on inanimate objects…’ _

 

_ ‘...ready to do human test trials…’ _

 

_ ‘...humans will be able to teleport in the near future…’ _

 

_ ‘...on a flight to Europe…’ _

 

I repeated the same process as before with this letter, this time only finding one word that could fit for the code.  _ Human _ . I tried it on the box, but to no avail. Getting frustrated now, I decided to call Alex and Maggie to help me with this. Half an hour later, we were all crammed on my couch, Alex and Maggie looking over the first few letters and I looked at the three that I had yet to read.

 

_ ‘...human test trials worked…’ _

 

_ ‘...sell commercially…’ _

 

_ ‘...Someone tried to kill me last month…’  _ I audibly gasped when I read that sentence, but kept going despite the weird looks I was getting from my sister and her girlfriend.

 

_ ‘...luckily they missed…’  _ I let go of a breath I didn’t know I was holding upon reading that.

 

_ ‘...come clean about a few things…’ _

 

_ ‘...I know you’re an alien…’   _ My jaw all but fell open. Sure, it was a relief that Lena knew, but I still felt bad that I hadn’t been the one to tell her. Realizing that none of the words fit the criteria for the code, I moved on to the next letter.

 

_ ‘...moving back to National City, permanently…’ _

 

_ ‘...still feel as if something is wrong…’ _

 

_ ‘...back home with you…’  _ Again, none of the words in that letter met the criteria for the code, so I moved on to the second to last letter.

 

_ ‘...back in National City…’ _

 

_ ‘...won’t be able to see you for a few days…’  _ Again, none of the words fit the criteria for the code. Now getting frustrated, I picked up the last letter, which was just a folded sheet of paper without an envelope. The handwriting seemed messier, as if she had rushed while writing it. It was covered in splatters of something red, like wine.

 

_ ‘...I haven’t much time…’ _

 

_ ‘...last few seconds to apologize…’ _

 

_ ‘...and to confess-’  _ The letter ended there, a big scribbled filled the rest of the paper, as if Lena had jolted suddenly while writing it. Furrowing my brow in confusion, I spoke up. “Hey Alex, look at this…” I showed her the letter as I said that, and Alex grabbed it immediately, her eyes bulging. She seemed to look at the top right corner of the paper before gasping.

 

“Oh, my God! She wrote this the day she died. July 2nd, 2021!” A realization struck me as Alex said this. “Ale-ex… that-that’s blood…” I said, trembling all over, tears beginning to fall out of my eyes.

 

“Hey, hey, hey! Kara, it’s gonna be alright. Let’s take a look at what we’ve got so far so we can try to unlock this damn box, okay?” Maggie stood up with her notepad in hand as Alex said this, and so I nodded. We all sat down with our respective notepads and began to read out loud. Alex’s list was short, having only read the first three letters.

  
  


“Return, sorry, chest, guilt, death, world, ” I told her to cross out  _ chest _ and  _ world _ , as it had nothing to do with her personally. She did so, and then Maggie began to read the words she had messily jotted down on her notepad, “Atoms, found, target.” I shook my head as she said the last two words. “Cross found and target out. They’re irrelevant.” Maggie did as she was told as Alex asked me what words I had found. Upon hearing I didn’t find any that fit the criteria, she made me pass her the letters. She quickly skimmed over them and didn’t seem to find anything, until she looked over the eigth letter for the second time and pointed at the paper very aggressively. “Alien! That fits!” She wrote it down on our new list of words excitedly before pulling the puzzle box towards herself and put in the first word.  _ Return _ nothing happened. She tried again with  _ SORRY, GUILT, DEATH,  _ and  _ ATOM  _ but to no avail. The box still didn’t do anything. She took in a slow breath as she arranged the dials to make them read  _ ALIEN.  _ We all sighed, dejected, when the box did nothing.

 

Suddenly, we heard a very soft click. I opened the puzzle box’s lid further, as it had opened slightly upon clicking. Inside was a singular envelope, which looked the exact same as the others. I slowly pulled the letter out of the box and took it out of it’s envelope. Alex and Maggie crowded around me as I unfolded it so they could read it as well.

 

“July 7th, 2021

Kara,

 

God, I really hope you find this. I’ll keep this short. I’m about to visit your friends at S.T.A.R Labs over on Earth-1 for some research I’m doing, completely unrelated to the project I’ve been working on. I’ll be back in a few days.

 

Sincerely,

Lena”

 

Alex seemed to have noted the date, because she audibly gasped. “JULY 7TH, 2021! She’s alive!” Nothing else had to be said as we all grabbed our jackets and ran to the door. While we were doing so, someone knocked at the door, but none of us seemed to care. I almost ran into Dave, one of the delivery guys from my favorite pizza place. Maggie spoke up once she saw my very confused expression, “I ordered pizza earlier.” she said with a shrug. Alex all but threw a twenty dollar bill at Dave before running ahead, Maggie and I following behind her. Dave yelled after us before we could even run half-way down the hallway to the stairs. “Wait! I need to talk to you guys! It’s important!”

 

At this, Alex turned around and yelled back at him, “I don’t think it’s even close to being as important as what we just found out, so I think it can wait.” She turned back around, but now Dave was in front of us, speaking in a very quiet voice. “It’s about Lena.” Upon hearing this, all our expressions were turned to ones of shock, Alex’s being more angry. “What the  _ hell _ do you know about her?” She said as she pinned poor Dave to the wall, the pizza forgotten on the floor. He looked genuinely terrified, but soon pulled something out of one of his pockets and pressed a button on it. All of our eyes widened in amazement mixed with disbelief as we saw what just happened to Dave’s face as he said one word, his voice cracking from fear.

 

“Surprise?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that was a bit longer and that I left you guys on a cliffhanger there, but I'll probably have an update up by tomorrow.
> 
> Come yell at me on tumblr (or writscrib) @photographerwithapen on both


	6. Closure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave turns out to be a completely different person, Kara passes out, Cat and Kara have a chat, and a certain someone visits Kara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg I'm so sorry I haven't updated and forever and I left you guys on a cliffhanger. I legit thought I mentioned who Dave was in chapter five but here we are!
> 
> p.s - HAPPY PRIDE!!

I literally fainted right there on the spot and almost made a Kara-sized hole in the floor, but luckily Maggie caught me, but almost dropped me before Alex stepped in and helped Maggie move me back into my apartment, ‘Dave’ awkwardly following behind us. Once I was settled down on the couch, Alex focused all her attention on ‘Dave’.

 

“Who the  _ fuck _ do you think you are? Taking the face of a dead woman, and making my sister  _ faint _ in the process! Are you  _ fucking  _ insane?!” Maggie tried to calm Alex down, but to no avail. She kept moving close to ‘Dave’ up until he was pinned against the wall again. “I know six different  _ very _ painful ways to hurt you with my  _ index finger _ , so you best tell me what kind of sick joke this is to you and what the  _ hell _ you did that for.”

 

“Agent Danvers, could you atleast put me down?” Alex slowly lowered the impersonator to the ground, but didn’t back away. ‘Dave’ began to explain what was happening. “First off, I am in fact real,” Alex began to speak but was interrupted, “and to prove it, you are Alex Danvers, an agent at the Department of Extranormal Operations, that woman right over there is Maggie Sawyer of the National City Police Department,” she now pointed at the couch, “and that’s Kara Danvers, formerly known as Kara Zor-El, last daughter of Krypton, A.K.A Supergirl. Furthermore, the code to that box there is ALIEN,” she pointed at the chest with the letters in it, “and  _ that _ is a box that contains ten letters, all from me to Kara, plus another one written the day I died. I can even tell you the date all those letters were written if you’d like me to.” She said as she crossed her arms over her chest, lifting an eyebrow. Alex seemed convinced, and Maggie seemed impressed. Just then, I sat up on the couch and turned my attention to the group of women behind me. “So it really is you.” The three jumped upon hearing my voice, Alex turned around first. “Jesus  _ fuck _ , Kara! How long were you up?”

 

“I woke up a few seconds after I passed out.” I said, poking my tongue out at Alex. I then turned to look at Lena, my expression now serious. She greeted me with a simple “Hi” and I replied with the same thing. We both broke out into small fits of laughter while Alex and Maggie quietly slipped out of my apartment, leaving just the two of us. Soon enough, we both sobered up and Lena moved to sit next to me on the couch. “I know you probably have a million questions, so ask away.” I began to speak incredibly fast until I was interrupted by Lena, “Kara, breathe. Speak slowly.” I took a deep breath and asked my first question.

 

“Why? Why fake your own death?”

 

“I wanted a clean slate. Faking my own death seemed like the easiest way to do it.”

 

Thinking that was a fair enough answer, I asked my next question, “How?” Lena blew out a breath before she answered me. “Phew. Took literally years to plan. The part about Element X was real though. The entire project was real, actually. But then halfway through working on the project, in late 2020 and early 2021, I decided to change the goal. I started by looking into face-changing devices, which is how I came across your friends at STAR Labs. Then we had to come up with a new identity for myself, and then get an ID, passport, and all sorts of other things. The faking of the death itself was the hardest part of the entire plan, but I won’t go into detail because it was  _ so _ fucking complicated I barely understood it.”

 

By the time Lena was done explaining, my eyebrows had risen so far up my forehead they might as well have been my hairline. “Wow. Okay, then-” I was interrupted by my phone buzzing. The screen lit up with two messages from Cat.

 

**_[6:57 PM]_ ** **Cat Grant -** _ Where the hell are you? _

 

**_[6:57 PM]_ ** **Cat Grant -** _ I thought we agreed to have lunch today. It’s 6:57 now and you haven’t even texted me. _

 

I scrambled to send her a quick text saying something important came up, but Cat wouldn’t have it.

 

**_[6:59 PM]_ ** **Cat Grant -** _ I’m coming over there right now. We seriously have to talk.  _

 

I didn’t even bother to argue with her, so I put my phone back on the table and looked at Lena once more. “Ms. Grant is coming over.” I told her. She only chuckled in response. “We both know better than to argue with her. Do you want me to leave?”

 

“No! Stay!” I began, “Wait, but… won’t she see you as Lena Luthor, a woman who’s been dead for three days?” Lena shook her head no before answering me, “Nope. She’ll see me as Angelena Neal, and the face changer Wells gave me makes it so only certain people see me as Lena Luthor.” My eyes widened throughout the entire sentence. “Wow. You really thought this through, didn’t you?”

 

“Yup. Every last detail. And it was worth it.” she said to me with a soft smile. I suddenly remembered Lena mentioning she had two things to confess, but only one had surfaced. “One last question,” Lena nodded before I continued, “What was that second confession? You only wrote the first one before you supposedly died.” At this, Lena froze, but was saved by the sound of three sharp knocks on my door. “Come in!” I called, knowing it was Cat. She strolled in like she owned the place and looked shocked as she saw Lena and I sitting on the couch. She set down her purse on my kitchen island and proceeded to place one hand on her hip. “Who’s this?” she asked with an eyebrow raised.

 

I barely began to stutter my way through an introduction before Lena interrupted me. “Angelena Neal, at your service. You must be Cat Grant. Kara talks about you all the time.” Cat let out a satisfied  _ hm  _ and proceeded to passive-aggressively kick Lena out of my apartment and took a seat where Lena was previously seated. “So how do you two know each other?”

 

“Uh- She’s just an old friend from college,” I said casually as I pulled me feet under myself, “So, what did you want to talk about?” Cat looked either offended or disappointed- maybe both; I couldn’t tell- before she answered me.

 

“The kiss, Kara. Jesus Christ, you have the memory of a goldfish.” At first, I was confused, not knowing what kiss she was talking about, but my expression was quickly replaced by one of realization, “Oh… uh… what about it? It’s been like, five years.” 

 

She looked hesitant to answer, and a few seconds passed before she spoke, “Did it… mean anything to you?”

 

I stiffened slightly before replying, afraid of how Cat would react, “It did then, but…” I trailed off at the end, not wanting to finish the sentence. Cat seemed to understand.

 

“But there’s someone else, I get it.” She quickly stood up and made for her purse. Realizing she was about to leave, I desperately tried to get her to stay, “Cat,” I stood up as I started speaking, “Don’t leave-” My words were cut off by the sound of my door closing, and my apartment was silent as I flopped down on the couch, defeated.

 

Decided it was better to catch up with Lena than to wallow, I picked up my phone and texted Lena to come over. She must not have gone far, as she walked into my apartment five minutes later and took her spot on the couch, “So what was that about?” I only grunted in reply, and it seemed Lena got the message, as she changed the topic quickly, “So… about that second confession…” I sat up suddenly, dying to know what it was. I had been thinking about what it could be ever since I read the letter.

 

“Well?” I said, almost impatiently. I noticed Lena had moved close enough that our knees were touching. “C’mon Lena! Tell me! It’s been killi-” I didn’t get to finish that sentence because Lena launched herself at me, kissing me fiercely in the process. I stiffened slightly at first, slightly surprised, but kissed her back for what seemed like a very short time before Lena pulled away. 

 

“Oh.” Lena and I both chuckled slightly before I pulled her in for another kiss, and somehow ended up straddling Lena. It didn’t last long, though, as Alex and Maggie walked in.

 

“ _JESUS FUCK, KARA!_ ” Exclaimed Alex while covering her eyes with her arm, and Maggie grinned approvingly before they both turned around and left Lena and I alone.

 

“Traumatizing your sister sure is fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I think I'm gonna write two more chapters, 1 is gonna be an alternate ending, and the other will be closure pt. ii (which I'm not sure I'm gonna write tho. U guys tell me what to do)


End file.
